19 février 2024 | International, Naval
Univers PME | Un contrat naval de 100 millions pour une (discrète) entreprise de Brossard
Le Groupe Bronswerk a la discrétion des sous-marins qu’elle équipe.
16 juillet 2018 | International, Terrestre
The Army’s next machine gun could fire caseless ammo — and one of these companies might build it
By: Todd South
The replacement for the Army's 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapon could be an entirely new type of light machine gun that fires not only a different caliber round, but caseless ammunition.
That's because one of the five companies recently awarded contracts to produce a weapon prototype by this time next year has been building weapons to fire that type of ammo for the past 14 years.
A notice posted Thursday included the identities of the five companies:
- AAI Corporation Textron Systems in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
- FN America LLC.in Columbia, South Carolina.
- General Dynamics-OTS Inc.
- PCP Tactical, LLC. in Vero Beach, Florida.
- Sig Sauer Inc. in Newington, New Hampshire.
The companies were awarded a contract to provide a prototype for the Army's Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle, or NGSAR. The light machine gun is the first planned major overhaul of small arms in decades.
Based on the notice, it appears that FN America has been granted an award to provide two prototypes, while the other four companies will provide a single prototype.
Those prototypes will help the Army decide what's possible given their extensive requirements for the new weapon. There will then be an open competition following those submissions, where more companies can try to get in on the weapon that will utlimately replace the M249 SAW and influence the M4 replacement, as well.
It is also the first weapon of its type that could mean a dramatic shift in all small arms, with follow-on changes planned for an individual carbine that will likely incorporate the machine gun changes, officials have said.
Current efforts include work on a lighter machine gun that fires a government-designed 6.8mm round, which falls between the lighter 5.56mm and heavier 7.62mm used in heavy machine guns. But submissions can include other calibers, so long as they meet accuracy and lethality requirements for the new weapon, officials have said.
In the Textron release, the company says the prototype will be based on their cased-telescoped weapons and ammunition portfolio. The company has designed both a carbine and light machine gun variant, which have been displayed publicly in recent years.
The NGSAR will be an “intermediate caliber, high-velocity, magazine-fed system,” according to the release. It will weigh less than 12 pounds with ammunition that weighs 20 percent less than the traditional brass case ammo.
The weapon will be at most 35 inches long and be able to fire 60 rounds per minute for 15 minutes without a barrel change.
Accuracy matters too. A shooter must be able to hit standard targets at 50 meters while standing, with three- to five-round bursts at least 70 percent of the time.
The companies also received awards for advanced weapons and fire control technologies, for the Next Generation Squad Weapons Technologies, the umbrella program for advancing small arms, and for the fire control capability.
Wayne Prender, vice president of Applied Technologies & Advanced Programs at Textron Systems, told Army Times Thursday that he couldn't discuss details of their fire control submissions configuration. But he did talk about some of the capabilites they plan to provide.
“We're offering up a solution set, day/night system optics with a laser range finder, integrated ballistic computer for computation of the target,” Prender said.
Last year Textron unveiled a 6.5mm carbine using their ammunition. The NSGW program aims to use an intermediate caliber, likely in the 6mm range, such as their 6.8mm ammunition development.
But Prender said he couldn't discuss details of the caliber submission for the weapon prototype.
Army leaders have said that advancements will come in stages and initial fire controls will be a part of the first fielded system, but that improved fire controls with additional upgrades will be incorporated into the system.
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29 avril 2019 | International, Naval
China’s latest class of warship makes its public debut
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia – the first of a new class of guided missile destroyer from China made an appearance at a naval review to mark the 70th Anniversary of the country's navy. The Type 055 destroyer, named the Nanchang, was among several ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy or PLAN that took part in the naval review held off the northern Chinese city of Qingdao with Chinese President Xi Jinping in attendance. China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era ship, was also in attendance along with 18 warships from 13 other nations including Australia, India and Japan. The United States declined an invitation to send its ships to the naval review, and France was disinvited after its frigate Vendémiaire sailed through the Taiwan Straits prior to the event, Reuters reported. The Nanchang was launched at Shanghai's Jiangnan Changxin shipyard in June 2017. The Type 055, which is classed as a cruiser by the Pentagon, measures almost 590 feet and displaces 10,000 tons according to specifications released by China — although some naval analysts believe that figure is an underestimation. Each ship is also equipped with a total of 112 vertical launch cells that are capable of launching either surface-to-air or anti-ship missiles, and fitted with a modern sensor suite that includes phased array radars. Speaking at a regular press briefing conducted by China's Ministry National Defense on Thursday, Senior Col. Ren Guoqiang confirmed that the Nanchang is on the verge of completing sea trials and will be officially handed over to the PLAN later this year. In addition to the Nanchang, recent open-source satellite and aerial imagery show that seven other Type 055s are in various states of construction and fitting out at the two major Chinese naval shipyards in Shanghai and Dalian. The latter is also where China's first domestically-built carrier, which is based closely on the Liaoning, is currently being completed. Further underscoring the astonishing pace of China's ongoing naval buildup, the photos also show five other smaller Type 052D destroyers undergoing construction at Dalian with six more being built at Shanghai. The latter shipyard has four more destroyers of an unknown sub-type being put together, along with what are reportedly the modules for China's third and largest aircraft carrier. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2019/04/26/chinas-latest-class-of-warship-makes-its-public-debut/
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7 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Leonardo sees market opportunity for M-346 attack variant in Middle East
By: Agnes Helou Correction: Leonardo has corrected statements made about M-346 customers during a tour of one of its facilities by Defense News, and this story has been updated to reflect that. BEIRUT — After the first order of its fighter attack variant of the M-346, Italian firm Leonardo is marketing the fighter jet in the Middle East, industry officials told Defense News, while noting that the training version was tested in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. “M-346 has been tested in Kuwait under hot conditions, passing all the tests successfully, and then it was also tested with the Italian Air Force in November 2018 in Qatar,” a Leonardo official said. Defense News spoke to the official during a tour of the company's facilities in Venegono Superiore, Italy. Leonardo would not identify the M-346FA customer or the contract value, despite inquiries by Defense News during and after the tour. The deal comes in the wake of increased interest for trainer jets — both those solely used for training and those able to perform close-air support missions — from Mideast countries seeking to expand their respective fighter fleets. “There is an increasing need for trainer jets in the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region as countries there work to expand their fighter fleets. The MENA nations have requirements for trainers also able to perform close‐air support missions," said Marco Buratti, Leonardo's senior vice president of international marketing and strategic campaigns. “Among the most notable examples that have chosen Leonardo's training approach is the UAE's national aerobatic team, Al Fursan — widely recognized as one of the best in the world and considered as a UAE national pride — which uses the Aermacchi MB‐339 aircraft,” he added. “The Emirati pilots were trained in Italy and the UAE under the supervision of the Frecce Tricolori pilots using Italian aircraft and training systems.” Leonardo offers its trainer customers the opportunity to send personnel to its International Flight Training School, where it trains pilots in four phases: primary training/screening; basic-advanced training; lead-in to fighter training; and an operational conversion unit. Leonardo is a member of the Eurofighter consortium, which builds the Typhoon fighter jet. Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are among those in the Gulf region who have ordered the aircraft. Meanwhile, in Europe, Italy has joined the United Kingdom's Tempest program for a next-generation fighter. Will the M-346 be the chosen trainer for that effort? “M-346 demonstrated its capability as [a] trainer for Eurofighter and F-35. It is early to speak about Tempest program because we don't know yet how it will be inserted in the combat environment," a Leonardo official told Defense News. "First, we need to understand [the] Tempest combat environment, and then we evaluate the M-346 as a trainer for the Tempest, or if in 10-15 years from now Leonardo will have to evolve the training system towards a new combat environment that require[s] new training skills.” https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/dubai-air-show/2019/11/06/mideast-customer-orders-attack-variant-of-leonardos-m-346-trainer-jet/